Working with Tables in Table Designer

The Table Designer allows you to change an existing database by changing, adding, duplicating, and deleting tables.

Note

A new version of Table Designer appears for databases in the SQL Server 2012 format. This topic describes the old version of Table Designer, which you use with databases in earlier formats of SQL Server.

In the new version, you can change a table definition through a graphical interface or directly in a script pane. If you use the graphical interface, the table’s definition is automatically updated in the script pane. To apply the SQL code in the script pane, choose the Update button. For more information about the new version, see How to: Create Database Objects Using Table Designer.

In This Section

• How to: Create Tables
  Provides basic steps for creating a new table, naming it, and adding it to an existing database.

• How to: Open Tables
  Describes how to use the Table Designer to open a table in an existing database.

• How to: Delete Tables from a Database
  Describes how to use Server Explorer to delete tables from an existing database.

• How to: Duplicate Tables
  Provides steps for creating a new table with the structure (not the data) of an existing table.

• How to: Rename Tables
  Describes how to use the Properties window to rename a table.

• How to: Discard Changes Made to Tables
  Provides steps to discard unsaved changes in a table if you decide that you do not want to save them in the database.

• How to: Resize Columns in Tables
  Provides steps for resizing column widths of database tables in the Table Designer as well as for tables that are part of the Visual Database Tools.

• How to: Show Table Properties
  Describes how to use Table Designer to show table properties, such as Name and Description.

Related Sections

• How to: Save Your Work in Table Designer
  Provides steps for saving changes to specific tables or to all tables open in the Table Designer.

• Working with Columns
  Describes what you can do with columns in Visual Database Tools and provides links to topics explaining how to modify columns.

• Working with Scripts
  Describes what you can do with scripts in Visual Database Tools and provides links to topics explaining how to create and modify them.

• Understanding Visual Database Tools
  Introduces the elements that make up Visual Database Tools and provides links to conceptual topics about the various tools and their interactions.